In Jena, Louisiana, the 17-year-old Mychal Bell, one of the Jena Six, has been released on bail after 10 months in prison. Bell and five other African-American high school students were arrested last year for beating a white student during a schoolyard fight. The fight occurred after white students hung three nooses in a tree in the schoolyard. An all-white jury convicted Bell of aggravated second-degree battery. But earlier this month, a Louisiana appeals court ruled he should not have been tried as an adult. On Thursday, Bell walked out of prison on a $45,000 bail bond. His release came hours after District Attorney Reed Walters announced he would not challenge the ruling ordering Bell’s release.

Reed Walters: “There is a victim in this case. His name is Justin Barker. I want everyone to know that the decision I am about to announce is based upon what I believe is best for him. I have decided not to appeal the decision of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals that overturned the conviction of Mychal Bell in adult court and sent the case back to juvenile court. This means the case against Mychal Bell will now go forward in juvenile court.”

Mychal Bell’s release comes one week to the day after tens of thousands of people gathered from across the nation to support the Jena Six. In his press conference, Walters shared his thoughts on the historic march.

Reed Walters: “I firmly believe and am confident of the fact that had it not been for the direct intervention of the lord Jesus Christ last Thursday, a disaster would have happened. You can quote me on that.”